Tag Archives: grill enclosures

Get a Custom Grill Enclosure in Kansas City

An awesome grill is a necessary finish touch to any deck, patio or outdoor kitchen. But you can’t just settle for any grill, especially if you consider yourself a king or queen of grilling steaks. For those superior skills, you need a custom grill enclosure.

First, grill enclosures offer an added safety measure. Grills that roll around on wheels can be dangerous when not locked properly, especially when children, pets or large crowds are nearby. Custom grill enclosures allow for the grill to stay secure in one place with no risk of it falling over and causing a major and even life-threatening accident.

How many accessories and ingredients do you require at arm’s reach while grilling? Custom grill enclosures can be built with plenty of storage for all of your seasonings, marinades, utensils and more.

Each grill enclosure pictured here was installed by Outdoor Environments. Are you interested in getting one for yourself? Remember that two of the biggest grilling days of the year – Memorial Day and the 4th of July – are just around the corner! Call Outdoor Environments at 913-897-2706 for details.

Landscape Architects Predict Outdoor Living Trends

This is the time of year when outdoor living trends will be all over the blogosphere. We know, because just last week we told you all about how outdoor kitchens are coming on strong in 2011.

Now the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has released their Residential Trends Survey. Included are some very promising finds. ASLA asked a group of professional landscape architects what trends and features they expect to see grow this year. Check out these highlights:

Most popular outdoor living features:

Exterior Lighting – 96.2%

Fire pits/fireplaces – 94.2%

Seating/dining areas – 94.1%

Grills – 93.8%

Installed seating like benches – 89.5

Most popular structures:

Fencing (includes gates) – 85.1%
Arbors – 83.8%
Pergolas – 82.6%
Steps – 79.3%
Ornamental water features such as fountains or splash pools – 77.5%
Decks – 74.4%
Porches – 72.3%

Outdoor Environments specializes in many of these popular outdoor living features including patios, decks, porches, fire pits and fireplaces, grill enclosures, pergolas and arbors. Call us at 913-897-2706 to find out more about how Outdoor Environments can bring life to your outdoor living space! You can also visit our Facebook fan page to see our impressive portfolio!

Outdoor living area shown is by Outdoor Environments

6 Tips to Cleaning Your Grill

Hopefully by now you have taken advantage of the nice weather and started using your grill more this season.  Keeping your grill clean is one of the secrets of great grilling, that and Dad’s secret BBQ recipe.  Cleaning not only avoids having last night’s steak marinade on tonight’s salmon, but it also extends the life of your grill.  Below are 6 tips on how to clean your grill.

  1. To avoid mixing flavors and spices you can cook your fish on foil placed on top of the grate.  You can also buy special pans with holes on the bottom and wooden handles that are made just for grilling.
  2. Using a light olive oil coating on your grill grate can keep the meats from sticking and will also make cleaning your grill easier.
  3. It is best to clean your grill after and not before you cook.  Cleaning your grates with a stiff wire brush while the grill is still warm will help remove unwanted food particles.
  4. Make sure you dump the ashes from your charcoal grill after every use and at least once a year get a bucket of soapy water and give it a really good clean, especially the debris that sits on the bottom of your grill.
  5. Gas grills need to have a thorough cleaning at least once a year as well.  You will need to disconnect the gas and lift the parts of the grill to clean those hard to reach places.  Inspect the burners to make sure nothing is blocking the flow of gas.
  6. Use your oven’s self-cleaning setting on the grates and any other metal parts that are small enough to fit.  This will save you a lot of time.

Remember to clean your grill regularly, same as you do your stovetops, and there will be less wear and tear on your grill.  Happy Grilling!

If there is no helping  your grill and you are looking to purchase a new one, let Outdoor Environments help, take a look at some of our grill enclosures below.

Our Clients’ Dream Outdoor Spaces, Revisited

Putting greens, ponds, fire pits and water wells, oh my! Take a look at a few of Outdoor Environments‘ most recently completed projects to see what our clients are requesting in their dream outdoor spaces.

Want to know what else is up our design sleeves? From shade arbors and pergolas to spa decks and grill enclosures, check out our photos of our recent outdoor living projects and tell us what’s most important to you, your family and your home.

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Our passion for building and design are rooted in our projects to help you creatively unleash the beauty of your natural surroundings.